moira smiley & VOCO is a visionary blend of voices - redefining harmony singing with the power & physicality of folksong, the avant-garde fearlessness of Béla Bartók and the delicious, vaudevillian accompaniment of cello, banjo, accordion and body percussion. Moira Smiley leads an ensemble of extraordinary musicians who share a passion for spreading powerful, emotional music with lush four-part vocal harmony, cello, accordion and banjo. Original improvisation-built songs steeped in Appalachia and Eastern Europe. Named #1 a cappella group in the U.S. in 2007, VOCO is the energy of street singing and the elegance of a string quartet. Recently featured in Dirty Linen and on more than 100 radio stations nationwide on NPR's "Harmonia", VOCO has released two critically acclaimed CDs in '08-'09: "Small Worlds" and "Circle, Square, Diamond & Flag". VOCO is sweet, hard-driving Americana mixed with crooked eastern European dance and dissonance. It's all rounded out with body-stompin' percussive movement and joyous, magnificent, hair-raising harmonies - music that mourns and dances at the same time. 

Moira Smiley, singer-composer, leads moira smiley & VOCO, travels the world as a soloist and creates new work for dance, theatre and film. Her voice can be heard on a wide variety of media, including feature films, television (BBC, PBS), NPR, and on over 40 recordings. Her recent albums “blink,” “rua” and "circle, square, diamond & flag" feature spare, vocally driven collections of warped traditionals and new song. She has sung with leading ensembles and artists around the world, including Paul Hillier’s Theater of Voices, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, KITKA Vocal Ensemble and New World Symphony. Featured at Lincoln Center, UCLALive, Royal Festival Hall, and music festivals across the U.S. and Canada, Moira has received praise from Billboard to Gramophone. While studying piano performance and Early Music at Indiana University, Moira was represented by IMGArtists Agency and toured extensively with her vocal group, VIDA. Praised for her musical depth and noted as a musical "shape-shifter," Moira premieres new art song, opera, and physical theater. She also explores the depths of early American, Irish and Balkan traditional song. Moira is in high demand as a music director and vocal coach—giving master classes in vocal technique, traditional styles, physicality and improvisation. She composes for vocal ensembles around the world—her song “Stand in that River” is performed by thousands of choral ensembles and singers of all stripes. www.moirasmiley.com www.myspace.com/vocoinfo

Albums:

Small Worlds	circl, square, diamond & flag
Blink	Rua
Changing Woman	Sacred Ground
Vida	Vida in Bloom